oneguy

iTrader: (23)

Torque has the units of force*distanace, which would make it work.
Power by definition is work/time.
therefore horsepower is a measure of howmuch work your engine can extract per unit time.

Since torque is force*distance it will help you with acceleration. The reason for this is if you divide that torque my the radius of your wheel (moment arm) you get a force. that is the force that accelerates your car (force=mass*acceleration)

horsepower definately comes into play at high speed. Drag on a car provides a force counteracting motion. multiply that by your speed (distance/time) and you get force*distance/time, which is power. so to reach high speeds power is essential.

WrX Kila

iTrader: (18)

I always thought we make less torque given our displacment. I could be wrong. STI's That have the 2.5 bottom end seems whentuned make way more torque then we do.

makaveli_31

iTrader: (4)

Basically,
Torque is directly proportional to the amount of air/fuel mixture PER CYCLINDER stroke the engine is combusting. Horsepower is the function of the amount of air/fuel PER UNIT TIME the engine is combusting.

WRC cars are fitted with a restrictor nozzle over their turbo inlets that limits the maximum flowrate of air through the turbo. At low RPMS, the engine isn't limited by this restrictor and so are able to make huge torque numbers (over 500 ft-lbs in cases). However, as the RPMs climb, the restrictor limits the maxiumum sustained airflow into the engine, and therefore limits the horsepower the engine can make.

EVOTEXAS

iTrader: (12)

That's right. A bigger motor can flow more air, this make more torque. Horsepower is not so different between the two cars because a smaller motor generally can rev higher and since HP is a function of torque AND RPM, then the HP number gets inflated for a high revving smaller motor even though it makes less torque.

JeffR116

iTrader: (3)

"Horsepower sells cars. Torque wins races" - Carroll Shelby

Need I say more?

95GSXtoEVO8

iTrader: (3)

Yeah you can say more, like tell us who Carl Shelby is.

Is he related to Carroll Shelby?

lol

EVOTEXAS

iTrader: (12)

Quoting someone indicates a lack of personal knowledge. Create your own.

WildRice

lol @ "Carl" I hope that was a typo. Carroll worked with 289s and larger. we are talking about a 2 liter 4.

wingnut17

iTrader: (4)

i'll take torque, you can't move without it.

BMan

If I could get a flat 450 tq curve from 1000 rpm to redline, I'd be a happy guy.

vegasboy301

iTrader: (9)

who wouldnt

electricevo

Thats too easy, torque all the way...

yesevo

iTrader: (13)

torque is good for 0-60mph and then HP takes over after 60mph!

hutch959

iTrader: (18)

ok freekz

I think this is correct...

brake power.... which is what we are talking about is
W=2piTN

W = power in watts (can convert to HP)
pi = 3.14 blah blah
T = torque (N*m)
N = rotations speed (rev/s)

jcnel_evo8

iTrader: (2)

Please, Please, PLEASE! keep making these remarks. Its soooo funny!

As it is explained, "Torque" is a representation of Force. The most basic relationship I can think of this is: Force = mass * (times) acceleration. In shorthand F=ma. Therefore after a bit of math, acceleration = Force / mass. In shorthand a = F/m.

That means one thing ... If you hold mass constant the more Force you put into a body (in our case the EVO) the more acceleration you'll have. Force is what get's you going, force is what keeps you going down the street at 200mph. Why all cars approach a top speed is because of the drag FORCE acting against the car. So let's say you can produce 1F of force .. and at 108.9876mph you get 1F of force acting against your automobile ... That means you're only ever going to go 108.9876mph, and that's it.

What an automobile's motor does is they produce a rotational force, and apply that through the drivetrain and such to output out the wheels, and push the car down the road.

It would be exactly the same in terms of forward acceleration if you got superman on your car, and had him push at the same force as your motor, you'd accelerate exactly the same.

Motors don't run at constant rpm, and for that matter, they aren't even able to suck the same amount of air through at a given rpm ... therefore we measure the torque at lots of rpms, and put that up as a torque vs. rpm graph. (Keep remembering that torque is a circular representation of force.) Horsepower is now, a representation of how much torque is there AT a given rpm. The basic relationship (equation) for horsepower is, Hp = Torque * rpm * Constant. Recall that rpm is "revolutions per minute." That's a time measurement. Horsepower can also be thought of as Hp = (Torque * Constant) per MINUTE. Its really the amount of Torque that is applied per some measurement of time.

If I took a itty bitty engine and put just a little torque on it, but rotated a billion miles an hour, you'd have a high horsepower motor. If I took a huge diesel motor, and it had a ton of torque at 100rpm, it'd be a large horsepower motor too.

Moving back towards the pratical in the motor world, its all really about how much air you can force into the motor and effectively burn. The more air you put in, the more fuel you burn. Ever seen a helicopter motor? They are really tiny, yet they can move you pretty fast and lift quite a lot. Why? Because they move a ton of air through. Well .. how does our EVO move a lot of air? (in our case, a stock motor moves about as much horsepower as a 302cid V8) ... well ... we have a big fat turbo on there ... and yes, its like a little jet motor in our car. It moves a LOT of air, and then our motor burns it with a lot of fuel, and we really get the EVO movin'!

Back to the Horsepower "versus" Torque debate ... I'd like us all to be friends, and realize that Horsepower and Torque are really bound together ... if you have one, you can get the other, knowing the rpm.

Perhaps the thread author's real question is, "do you like low-rpm horsepower, or high-rpm horsepower?" Personally, I like the "mid-rpm" horsepower of the EVO. It allows ME the choice of when and how to finesse the power out of the EVO. A fringe benefit is I can choose to get 26mpg, or 16mpg.

hehe ... if anybody gives me the "low-end torque," "high-end horsepower" blah again, I'm going to suggest that they please keep reinventing the shovelhead Harley POS motor.



Cheers,

jcnel.